In silico analysis of interleukin polymorphisms related to thyroid Cancer and Chronic stress

• Grant number: 21/06012-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Laura Sterian
• Grantee: Sanna Cristina Barbosa de Sousa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cortisol is the main stress hormone and fundamental to human survival. Acute stress is capable of influencing anti-inflammatory responses to the detriment of pro-inflammatory responses. On the other hand, chronic stress causes an imbalance of important pathways such as NFkB, deregulating immune responses, and production of interleukins such as IL-1² (by IL-17), IL-6, and IL-8, which can contribute to a pro-oncogenic microenvironment. In Brazil and worldwide, the incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has been increased in recent years. This may be a consequence of improved diagnosis, but it may also be related to a more stressful lifestyle. Previous studies, including those of our group, show a relationship between IL-1², IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17 with the tumor microenvironment, strengthening the possible relationship between chronic stress and TC. The identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is useful to identify genetic susceptibility and can help to predict the clinical evolution of the patient since they can influence different processes of production and protein function, depending on their location. Our objective is to investigate SNPs in the interleukins IL-1², IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17, related to chronic stress and present in the thyroid tumor microenvironment, in order to identify those SNPs of greater impact to discuss whether the alterations caused have a role in TC susceptibility and prognosis. Morphofunctional computational analysis of altered proteins will be performed to analyze protein function and stability, as well as sites of post-translational changes. (AU)